


Coined

by bluechild



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Crying, Engaged Rayllum, F/M, Family Reunions, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Kissing, M/M, Post-Season/Series 03, runaan does not approve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23507425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluechild/pseuds/bluechild
Summary: My take on the de-coining of Rayla’s parents. Not much, just a small fic to get me past my writers block
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Lain/Tiadrin (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 169





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So. Writers block. I would love to work on ‘A New Year’ but I mentally can’t and it sucks lots. So, this is what I edited instead of sleeping (this has been sitting in my folder for ages) I hope that you enjoy reading

I woke up with a commotion outside my door. I blinked and yawned, sitting up, hearing shouting and guards marching outside in the hall.  


“What is going ooooon?” Rayla grumbled, covering her head with a pillow, just as I heard Opeli issue an order loudly. 

I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of bed. “Let’s go find out. It has to be something important if Opeli is shouting.” I said, handing Rayla her boots. She grumbled again, but pulled them on as I quickly threw a shirt on and my scarf.

We walked out, seeing guards pouring in the direction of the... treasury? I opened my mouth, but Rayla was already asking Opeli what had happened. 

“We were infiltrated by three moonshadow elves. Two males, and a female. They got into our treasury somehow.” Opeli informed us, frowning.

Rayla grabbed my arm. “Let’s go!” She shouted, dragging me with her.

We sprinted down the hall, making it to the jewel room. We pushed through the circle of guards, and froze when we saw the elves.

Three Moonshadow elves. 

I could recognise them from years ago, instantly putting names to those faces. 

Runaan. Tiadrin. Lain. 

What on earth were they here? They were standing in the middle of the room, looking disoriented and confused. There was an empty bag next to Tiadrin - Viren’s coin bag! What could that... oh. I had a good guess as to what happened. 

Tears formed in Tiadrin and Lain’s eyes when they saw her. “Mom? Dad?” Rayla asked, her voice wobbling.  


“Rayla...” Lain whispered. 

I shouted at the guards to stand down just as Opeli walked through the crowd to my side and Rayla sprinted and leaped into her parents arms. Opeli narrowed her eyes at them, but I elbowed her. 

“I’ll explain later. Just be happy for Rayla.” Opeli, wisely, made no comment about the elves as their arms tightened around Rayla. 

Runaan actually smiled a little (a rare occurrence according to the stories that Rayla had told me), and Rayla pulled back from her parents to give him a bone-crushing hug as well. Opeli waved the rest of the guards away, still deeply confused. 

“Who are you, and why are you in my treasury?”

The three adults shifted into defensive stances in front of Rayla, but the she pulled them back. I stepped forward and Tiadrin glared at me, putting an arm in front of Rayla again. 

“I’ll take care of the human guards. You get out of here.” She snarled. 

Rayla blinked (she still had tears in her eyes), then grabbed her mother’s arm and pulled it down as it reached for one of the torches on the wall. 

“There is a lot to explain, but the humans are my friends.” Tiadrin took her eyes off me for the first time to glance down at Rayla. 

“Wait, what?” 

“This is clearly a misunderstanding. Why don’t we go to a sitting room, and we can explain everything.” I offered, inching closer to Rayla again. However, Lain bared his teeth.

“Stay away from our daughter.” He had a sword in his hands, probably pulled from a stand. 

Well, this was going well. Rayla looked upset at how her parents were handling me - I mean, what was going to happen when they found out that we were engaged? But she also looked happy and exasperated all at the same time. 

“Look. These are my friends. Let’s go talk, and we can figure out what happened. And please stop trying to protect me - you don’t need to.”

The elves eventually agreed to talk. We started walking down the hallway - Me and Opeli at the front, Lain and Runaan in the middle and Tiadrin and Rayla at the back. Thankfully, we had no guards escorting us - that could come across the wrong way. I tried to slip past Runaan to talk to Rayla, but he blocked my path, scowling. Great. Just great. 

We got to the sitting room and I requested for elven food to be brought in. Runaan’s eye twitched at that and I think that he paled a shade, strangely, but then we sat down. Rayla sat down opposite her parents to be able to talk to them easily, and I settled down next to her. 

I gave Rayla a small smile which she shakily returned, our faces only inches apart, and I could see Tiadrin’s eyes widen from the corner of my eye - as if she just realised something. Opeli sat in my other side, and a platter of food and drinks was brought in. 

“How did you get into the castle?” Opeli asked as she poured some moonberry juice into five glasses. Rayla took one and had a sip, mostly to show that she trusted Opeli, I realised. I took another, gulping down the liquid - I still hadn’t had breakfast. 

“We woke up here. In that room. I don’t know how.” She paused, and continued “Last I remember, me and Tiadrin were at the Storm Spire, defending the dragon prince from a human.” Lain finished, giving me a pointed stare. Tiadrin was still staring at me, as if she was trying to figure something out. “That was a few hours ago though. How are we here?” She said. I took a deep breath in, and started. 

“You came from Viren’s coin bag. He was the mage who came for the egg. That fight with him was... years ago. A lot has happened since.” 

No one said anything, so I started our story. “Everyone thought that the dragon princes egg died. But it didn’t. A few years ago, a team of assassins - including Runaan and Rayla - came to kill Prince Ezran and King Harrow of Katolis. My brother and father. They killed my father, and Rayla found me and Ezran. She tried to kill us, but Ezran showed her the egg of the dragon prince, alive. Thanks to you two.” I added, nodding at Tiadrin and Lain. “We decided to make truce, and return the egg to Zubeia, the dragon queen, and put an end to the war.

“We travelled to Xadia, but Ezran had to leave to be king just before we got to the border. That left me and Rayla to return the egg, who had hatched into Zym.”

“How did it hatch? Sky dragons can only be born in the eye of a storm.” Runaan asked suspiciously.

“I smashed a sky primal stone, and it created the storm.” I explained. Runaan nodded slowly, as if he admitted that made sense. 

“We travelled through Xadia and eventually gave the dragon prince to the queen. But Viren had followed us - with an army. He marched into Xadia, killing the Sunfire Queen, and headed to the Storm Spire. We rallied our forces of dragons, sunfire elves and some humans, and fought. We won - barely. Viren was killed, and there has been peace between elves and humans ever since. That was all five years ago.”

“So we are in... Katolis? This doesn’t explain why we are here.” Lain said. 

“I hunted down and killed Viren a year ago. His lingering magic must have finally dissipated and freed you while you were in our treasury - we were trying to find out how to free you anyway.” I answered. 

Lain carefully reached for a grape, and put in his mouth, chewing slowly. His eyes lit up, and he grabbed a bunch, popping them into his mouth. Suddenly all three elves descended into the food, eating like they hadn’t in years. Haha, funny joke. 

Rayla stood up and turned to Opeli. “Can these three stay in Katolis for now - just while they get back to normal?” 

Opeli nodded and turned to the guards at the door. “Prepare two rooms for our guests.”  


I glanced to Runaan. “Do you want me to send a message to Ethari? I can tell him what happened, and ask him to come to the palace.”  


Runaan's eyes grew misty, and he nodded like that was all he had been thinking about in the past hour. I handed him a sheet of paper.

“You can write it, and I’ll cast a spell for it to reach him.” His head snapped back to face me, his expression twisted with rage.

“You’re a dark mage!?” He roared. Tiadrin and Lain shot up, looking at me. Looking like they almost trusted me, but now they were betrayed. It was written all over their faces. Rayla ran up to my side.  


“No, no, no - listen! He’s a sky mage. Callum hates dark magic!” 

Runaan didn’t shift from his stance, and a knife had appeared in his hand from somewhere. “Get back Rayla.” He snarled, and advanced on me.  


I quickly drew the rune and muttered the incantation. “ _Aspiro_ _Frigis_!” I blew a breath, freezing his hand with the knife. 

“I connected to the Sky Arcanum on my trip to Xadia. I will never do dark magic.” I said. I took my jacket off, revealing the runes that Ibis had tattooed into my arms. The runes that Rayla loved to trace while her lips were locked with mine. The runes that had saved our lives at the Storm Spire all those years ago. 

Runaan looked again, his expression shifting to something close to awe. Same with Tiadrin and Lain. “You can do magic. That... is amazing!” Lain exclaimed. I twisted my hand, and the ice surrounding Runaan’s arm broke. 

Rayla:

I sighed in relief. It would be pretty bad for Runaan if he had stabbed Callum. “What do the runes do?” Lain - Dad - asked.  


Callum smiled and headed over to the balcony. He whispered a spell, and the draconic words glowed. 

Then Callum jumped off. I ran the the railing, peering over the edge, but suddenly he shot up, just inches from my face. I laughed as he did laps in the sky, soaring with his wings. After a few wingbeats, he landed on the balcony again. 

“It’s not necessary to jump off a tall ledge every tine you know.” I said, punching his shoulder playfully. He chuckled as his wings faded back into arms, the runes glowing faintly before returning to white. 

My parents were still sanding there in shock - Dad was beaming a bit, whereas Mom was smiling a little. Runaan was... still scowling but in an impressed-kind-of way. Callum smiled and bowed, and I whacked his shoulder again - but I couldn’t stop smiling either. 

At this rate, I don’t think that it would be a massive problem to tell my parents that Callum was my fiancé. He seemed to be making a good enough impression, but Runaan might still stab him. And then me. 

Oh well. 

“Do you guys want to go to your rooms? I’m sure that you’re exhausted from... everything... what do you think?” I asked. I saw Dad almost fall over suddenly, his knees buckling.  


Mom nodded, grabbing his hand. “Let’s go. We all need some rest.” 

After I showed everyone to their rooms, I met Callum in the dining room, slumping on a chair. “Your parents seem lovely. I think that Runaan will still stab me in my sleep, but hey, they like me!” 

Callum sat next to me, taking my hand. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He fussed.  


I waved a hand dismissively and explained. “I’m so happy to see them. It’s just... I forgot how exhausting Runaan is.” 

Callum laughed, bringing me a sandwich. 

“Now we just need to figure out how to tell them that we’re engaged.”

Tiadrin:

I snuck out of our bedroom at night, leaving Lain sleeping in the bed. Something was between Rayla and this ‘Callum’ boy. I could see it. Something was happening between them. I just needed to know _what_. 

I heard voices coming up at the corner, and I ducked behind a suit of armour - it was Callum and Rayla. They were talking quietly, something about extending their visit to Katolis. I watched them silently, and then they headed into a room. 

What? They... this might not necessarily be a bedroom. Maybe it was a planning room. Or anything else. I couldn’t imagine Rayla with... anyone really. She had always been so independent. And Rayla with a human - practically impossible. Even if elves and humans were at peace.

I counted how many rooms between mine and the one Rayla and Callum had slipped into, and headed back to my room. Five rooms. I walked out to the balcony. I counted five balconies down, leaping to each one silently, and pressed my back to the wall of the last one. 

I peeked inside and saw... Rayla lying down on the bed with Callum on top of her, kissing her passionately. His shirt was gone, and she was only clad in a nightgown that hitched up her thighs. His arms were braced on either side of her head, framing her face. Her hands were cupping his cheeks, pulling his face closer to hers. 

I whipped back around, feeling a mix of emotions. I just saw my daughter... making out with a human. If I strained my ears, I could hear them kissing in the room. It went silent all of a sudden, after a few minutes. Then some rustling of sheets. 

I could feel myself paling. I needed to make sure that they weren’t... doing anything reckless. Even if they were twenty years old. I looked around the corner again, and breathed a sigh of relief. 

Rayla was lying on her side with her back against Callum’s chest. They were both still clothed, as far as I could tell. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, and her arms were resting on top of his. “When are we going to tell your parents about us?” Callum whispered. 

Rayla looked conflicted. “I don’t know. I don’t think that they would be upset if they knew the whole story, but I think that Runaan is a different story. He’s going to throw you off a cliff. And then me.” 

Callum smiled grimly. “Ah. I get that whole cliff-throwing vibe off Runaan.” He nodded gravely, and Rayla laughed, turning to kiss Callum.  


She sighed when she pulled away and settled back into Callum. 

“Goodnight Callum.” She whispered. 

“Goodnight Rayla. Sleep well.” He whispered. 

But his tone had changed, like ‘sleep well’ wasn’t an endearing saying - he said it like she might not. Like she had nightmares... oh no. Poor Rayla. Probably Callum too, if the way he looked like he was bracing himself for sleep was any indication. 

I slipped back to my room where Lain was sleeping, and I nestled into his side. 

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry for not updating this fic. Since the pandemic kicked up, I’ve had barely enough time to keep up with the stories I have going already... and this one sort of, uh, slipped from my mind.  
> But here it is, the long awaited (again, I am so sorry) second and final chapter!

In the morning, Ethari arrived. 

He had taken a ride on a moonshadow dragon, with a few strings pulled by Ezran. 

I stood with Callum in the courtyard as the dragon touched down, my other parents with us. They still looked pale and gaunt, with slightly hollow faces and they were a little too skinny. 

But they were happy, and safe. 

The second the dragon touched down, Ethari jumped off and sprinted towards Runaan. They embraced, and I was stunned to see Runaan… crying. 

“My Heart. My Heart.” He kept repeating, hugging Ethari close with tears streaming down his face. 

“My Heart and Moon… you came back.” Ethari murmured, pulling his head back just enough to see Runaan’s face and stroke it with his hands. 

They kissed, and I averted my eyes. It felt like a strangely private moment that I was intruding on. 

When they broke away from each other, Ethari caught sight of Mom and Dad. 

“Tia! Lain!” He shouted, and they finally moved forwards. It was like one big family reunion as they all hugged each other, crying and laughing. 

“Rayla! Get over here!” Dad yelled, and I gladly ran up to be included in the family hug. 

It was the first time being around all four of my parents since… nexus, since I was four. 

After a few minutes of incoherent babbling and sobbing from all five of us - less Runaan, but he still joined in - I heard someone clearing their throat. 

“I don’t want to interrupt this wholesome moment, but Ez has something to say.” Callum told us. 

We wiped our tears away and faced the king. 

“You are welcome to stay in Katolis for as long as you need - Tiadrin, Lain and Runaan, you may stay in your rooms. And I’m assuming that Ethari will be staying with Runaan?”

Ethari nodded quickly. “Yes. Absolutely.” 

And he broke down again straight after speaking. 

“I’ll give you all some time to catch up - Callum, you can escort them to one of the larger meeting rooms?” Ezran asked, and my fiancé nodded. 

“Sure. Follow me - we can go to a more private place.”

As we started walking, I bounded up to Callum - who was slightly startled by my energy but grinning all the same. 

“What are you smiling at?” I asked, beaming. 

“You. Your parents. It’s just… really sweet.” He was being genuine, but I could see sadness in his eyes. 

Oh. He would never get to see his parents again - they were dead, with no way to ever come back.

“Callum, I’m so sorry-“

“No.” He interrupted. “Don’t be sorry. This is your happy moment, and honestly - if you’re happy, then so am I.”

I looked skeptical, and he sighed. “Now you’re upset. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Callum, don’t be like this.” I frowned. 

He took a deep breath, then smiled again. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really happy that your parents are back together, don’t get me wrong.”

“Yeah.” I murmured, glancing back to where they were talking excitedly, holding each other’s hands. “Me too.”

Callum saw that and his smile only got wider. “Good.”

We stopped in front of a room, where soldiers were standing guard. 

“Prince Callum. Right this way.” One of them said, opening the door for us. 

“Thank you.” Callum murmured. 

We entered the room, which was a lot like the one from yesterday - it had food already set up, platters of food and drinks ready. Several couches for lounging on. 

I chose my seat, across from Runaan and Ethari, diagonal from Mom and Dad. Callum went to leave, but I wasn’t having any of that. 

“Callum. Stay.” I implored, and he smiled and took the place at my side. 

“I’m curious,” Dad started, not unkindly, “what exactly is your relationship with our daughter?”

Callum took a deep breath in, glancing to my face for confirmation. I smiled reassuringly, and he faced my parents again. 

“Well, we are-“

It was at that moment Runaan inhaled sharply, having noticed the ring on my finger. 

“You’re engaged to this human?” He breathed, his piercing gaze flicking up to me. 

“What?” Dad was taken aback, looking shocked. 

With all five sets of eyes on me, I cleared my throat. 

“Umm… yeah. I’m engaged to marry Callum in four months.” I told them. 

“During the Winter Solstice.” Ethari added.

“Is this a… political marriage?” Runaan asked warily. 

I shook my head. “We love each other, and have for over… wow, five years now.” I laughed. “It’s been a while.”

Callum grinned. “It’s been the best years of my life.”

There was a silence, and I dragged my eyes away from Callum to look at my parents. 

Ethari was beaming proudly, overjoyed as he always was whenever our engagement came up. Mom was the least surprised out of my recently de-coined parents, but she was smiling as well. Dad was shocked, but obviously happy for me. 

But Runaan… he didn’t look like he was handling it too well. 

“Engaged to marry. And a human, no less.” He asked slowly. 

“Yes. I’m going to marry Callum.” I repeated, before bracing myself for the fallout.

A vein in his neck throbbed once, twice, before he exhaled and leaned back into the couch. 

“Fine.” He muttered. 

Uh… what?

Even Mom and Dad looked like they had been expecting him to start throwing things - probably Callum. 

“Runaan, are you alright?” Mom asked cautiously. 

“I’m fine.” He said, grabbing a grape and popping it into his mouth. 

“Feel free to  _ not do this...  _ but I was kinda expecting you to flip out.” I told him. 

Runaan sighed. “I just… I spent five years trapped in a prison. Five years without my family, my husband… I missed so much. And I could’ve prevented all of that if I had just been open and less…”

“Bull-headed?” I suggested, earning a chuckle from Runaan. 

Okay. He hit his head too hard. 

“Bull-headed. Yes. And I don’t want to spend the rest of my life resenting you for marrying the person you love, even if they are a human.” Runaan finished. 

“That’s… really wise.” Ethari murmured, before placing his hand on his husband’s forehead. “Are you feeling alright?”

We all laughed at that. 

Runaan smiled lazily at Ethari. “I’m fine, now that I have you with me.”

He pulled Ethari in for a searing kiss, and we started throwing pillows at them. 

“Gross!” I exclaimed, piffing a cushion at Runaan’s chest. 

“Get a room!” Mom yelled, grinning, and she wasn’t so kind. 

Runaan copped a pillow to the head, and it was not soft. 

But he pulled away, chuckling, tossing it back at her. 

Tiadrin:

It was so good to see Ethari - but all of that was overshadowed by a certain announcement. 

My daughter was  _ engaged _ . 

I thanked all the gods I knew that I got to see my  _ daughter  _ get married. 

Nexus, I would be attending my daughter’s  _ wedding _ in a few months. 

My thoughts were going in circles like that for the rest of the hour we were in the meeting room. 

Just as we were leaving the room, I grabbed Rayla’s hand and pulled her to the side. 

“Mom? Everything okay?” She asked, a hand on my forearm. 

She was so beautiful. She had really grown into a young woman, so much older and more mature than the last time I had seen her. 

I couldn’t blame Callum for falling in love with her. 

Then again, after getting to know the young man, I couldn’t blame her either. 

“Everything is fine. Better then fine, actually.” I smiled, cupping her cheeks and brushing my thumbs over her cheeks. “I’m so, so grateful that I get to have a second chance.”

She smiled back, the corners of her eyes crinkling as little tears gathered in her eyes, and held my hands in place. “Me too.” She murmured. 

“I’m so sorry that I missed so much of your life. I regret that I couldn’t make more time to see you when you were young, and I regret that we were trapped by that dark mage.”

“That wasn’t your fault.” She insisted. 

“But it could’ve been avoided.” 

She opened her mouth to argue further, but I spoke again. 

“And I can’t believe you’re getting married!” I grinned, and Rayla beamed back. 

“Neither can I. It all seems so surreal.” 

I hugged her tightly, and her arms wrapped around me automatically. 

Compared to the thousands of fever dreams I had experienced in that godforsaken coin, this was far better. More real and… tangible. 

Later that night, Lain whispered something to me. 

“How do we know this is real?”

It took me a minute to think of a response. 

“I’m going off the thought that my brain could never create a dream this batshit insane.”

He laughed, before kissing my forehead. “I know exactly what you mean.”

I snuggled further into his chest, thinking. 

“I… I don’t actually know.” I realised. “This could be fake, couldn’t it?”

“We just have to hope that we don’t wake up, then.” 

Months passed, and the wedding date arrived. 

Still, the words that Lain had whispered to Tiadrin late that night stayed with them, and not a day passed where they didn’t think about them. 

Rayla and Callum were happily married on the Winter Solstice, during a full moon. Royals and officials from all around the continent attended the ceremony.

Tiadrin, Lain and Ethari had never cried so much. 

Two years later, Rayla fell pregnant. 

She gave birth to a beautiful little girl with five fingers, pointed ears and brown hair. The family bet on whether Sarai would have horns or not. 

Runaan found that he was overjoyed for the couple, and loved Sarai with all of his heart. 

A year passed and Tia’s horns finally surfaced. Ezran, Callum, Ethari and Runaan had to pay up. 

The thought that this may not be reality had slipped to the back of Lain’s mind long ago, but Tiadrin still had nightmares.   
  


But they never woke up. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any feedback or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment! Stay safe out there!


End file.
